Difference between the Ref and Sir!

“I don’t think we’ve met before, but I’m the referee”

Welcome Punters!
It’s a hasty and late one from me but the absence of so many games in recent weeks meant I had to give you an update on all things BRFC!

As far back as 28th January we hosted the annual BRFC Vets lunch which was another huge success and much gratitude to so many for making it happen but especially our Kitchen and Bar Super Woman Zoe who always has a smile no matter what challenges we give her – Thank you Zoe!

Yet sadly with Old Paulines having to postpone we haven’t played since, so our run out against the infamous Harlequin Amateurs was keenly subscribed too with a squad of nearly 22!

Quins also had a fairly decent looking squad boasting a few younger faces who had come to learn what Vets is all about and indeed for long phases Quins dominated and made really hard work for Harrodians to find any form. In fact we had to defend really hard for long periods as Quins started to put some useful patterns together. After a sustained attack Quins scored but did not convert.
Scrums and lineouts were evenly contested, but our ruck ball and great interplay amongst the boys started to produce results for us and ay half time we were 5-14 ahead.

I think in the end fitness on the part of Harrodians started to take its toll on Quins and we started to punch holes in their defence which proved to be very satisfying when the likes of Rich Mayson and Barney carve open an already tired side! In the end our patience and brilliant defence paid dividend and we came up trumps, though we did concede a number of early penalties for being offside!

As you do, driving back down the A3 late at night, heated seats trying to soothe the stiff and sore back, your mind reflects on the game and what we needed to differently and part of that is the 16th Man. The ref has an almost impossible task to undertake and that left me pondering on the impact a great ref can have on the game which is ever so important in the game today.

Last year at the BRFC Annual City lunch 300+ guests were humbled as Nigel Owens OBE addressed us with immense fortitude, charisma and wit; more recently he shared some very emotional insights on Radio 4 Desert Island Discs. It’s a must listen to recoding which will help us understand why the benchmark set by Nigel Owens is so high and why I can only imagine there are so many aspiring referees who would love to be referred to as ‘Sir’ for all the right reasons.